Over the years binoculars of various styles and sizes have been used by great numbers of people including boaters, birders, hikers, bikers, and the like. Most of these binoculars are designed to be hand-held. However, in order to get a steady view of a distant object it is sometimes necessary to rest the binoculars on or against a solid object. Many of the larger, more powerful binoculars have built-in tripod mounting attachments; however, the smaller, compact binoculars popular for most outdoor and sports activities have no provision for mounting to available camera supports.
While there are several binocular mounting devices known in the art, these devices do not adequately address the stabilization needs of users of the current popular style of compact binoculars. Some of the described devices are complicated and/or heavy and difficult to use, while others do not work with compact binoculars, and none provide protection from the elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,133,719 issued to Beck describes a clamping device on a vertical column. This device does not work well with most compact binoculars because it does not adequately hold a pair of binoculars in the steady manner desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,451 issued to Conway describes a somewhat flexible, elongated mounting device with troughs for the monocular barrels of a pair of binoculars, a hump in the center against which the monocular barrels are pressed, and a securing strap that forces the flexible ends of the elongated body against the monocular barrels. Although this system is lightweight and uncomplicated, it does not work with many of the compact binoculars and does not allow for eye width adjustments in any binoculars without adjustments to the strap.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,991 issued to Webster describes a binocular mounting device that consists of a padded base with a holding strap which is centrally secured to the base in a manner that provides a pair of loops to secure the monocular barrels of a pair of binoculars. While this system is lightweight and uncomplicated, it will not work with compact binoculars which do not have individual monocular barrels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,136 issued to Rudolph describes a complicated and heavy support apparatus for optical instruments, including binoculars, which is similar to that of Conway, but has extra positioning stops.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,025 discloses an apparatus for supporting personal computers atop tripods comprising a base having a fastener for securing the base to a support surface, and a plurality of support arm assemblies. This invention allows the computer to be operated atop tripods while providing a stable, transportable, and adjustable work station for using the computer in nontraditional environments.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,100 discloses a mount for a stand or a stool. The support legs for the stand or stool are disposed in a pyramidal relationship with a mount at the apex. The legs of the stand or stool are disposed between parallel, spaced legs of L-shaped brackets and pivotally secured thereto. The brackets are integrally joined to the legs and are removable from the remainder of the mount. The remainder of the mount comprises a support member or plate with a threaded rod depending perpendicularly therefrom. The rod passes between the L-shaped brackets, which pivotally hold the legs.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,308 discloses a support frame for attachment to the lower portion of the chest for supporting a viewing device such as binoculars. The support frame has an adjusting device for locating the viewing device in a convenient viewing position. The support frame includes a generally rectangular body plate, which is vertically disposed with its rearward side surface being slightly concave to the horizontal plane. The support device also includes a support arm attached to the lower front central portion of the body plate and extending horizontally forwardly from the body plate. The support frame additionally includes a vertically disposed collapsible post for supporting the viewing device at its upper end with a lower end of the post being attached to the support arm. The post is generally parallel to the body plate and is adjustable both as to its vertical height and as to its horizontal separation from the body plate. One or more straps are present for supporting the frame on the body of the wearer.